Choosing an Au Pair

How can an Au Pair candidate hasten a match?

by cv harquail January 11, 2011

Yesterday we got this email from an au pair candidate who is very excited about finding a family. She asks: How could I be selected as an au pair as soon as possible? I offered her a little advice, and I’d love to hear what you all might suggest… Hi I’m Shannon from (Southeast Asia), […]

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A Series of Bad Matches: Is it you, or your au pair Agency?

by cv harquail December 14, 2010

No one is responsible for a great host parent-au pair relationship. Or, rather, no one person or entity is responsible for great host parent-au pair relationship. That responsibility is shared between three parties: 1. The Au Pair her- or himself 2. The Host Parent(s), and 3. The Au Pair Agency. Because we host parents know […]

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Will a Host Family Take Me if I Struggle with English?

by cv harquail December 3, 2010

We got this question from a potential au pair — Aupair mom, It is nice to find a place like these, at the moment im I am in the early stages of my application as Aupair in America. i have been reading a lot of posts, and it have been very interesting and helpful. To […]

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Au Pair Asks: How should I expect to act around my Host Family?

by cv harquail November 6, 2010

Dear Au Pair Moms, What is an acceptable way to act around the host family? is it more like a work environment, or would, for instance, an au pair treat the host mom like a real mom, and tell her most things about her social life outside of the au-pairing job? Is it common for […]

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5 Ways to Assess an Au Pair’s Driving Skill when Choosing an Au Pair

by cv harquail November 4, 2010

The original title I had for this post was “In which we address, once again, the issue of driving skills”. However, since that’s neither SEO-friendly, nor really helpful, let’s see if we can actually come up with ways to assess driving skill. Everyone who has ever driving a car can call say that s/he’s an […]

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Finding an Au Pair for a child with Special Needs: Willingness is not enough

by cv harquail October 15, 2010

When I first noticed that au pairs could indicate with a simple check mark whether they were “willing” to match with a family with host kids with special needs, I was surprised. I was pleased that there was an easy way for au pair candidates to indicate, without embarrassment, whether or not they felt they […]

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Someone Else in Your House: Getting comfortable with the idea of an Au Pair

by cv harquail September 16, 2010

Probably the most common obstacle for any family considering an au pair vs. other kinds of childcare is the idea of having some other adult live in your house with you. People imagine that they’ll lose their privacy, feel crowded, feel constantly observed, never have time to themselves, and grow weary from no time ‘off’. […]

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My Potential Host Parents Might Be Divorcing. Should I ‘unmatch’?

by cv harquail September 14, 2010

Dear Au Pair Mom, For the past couple of months, I had been looking for an Au Pair job in Europe (I am American), and finally found a great family via Aupair.com. I used your advice and evaluated the match by shared values, lifestyle, and mutual expectations. We seemed like a perfect fit, and everything […]

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Choosing Your Next Au Pair: Beware of the Contrast Effect

by cv harquail September 7, 2010

A host mom who’s looking hopefully at a rematch situation writes us for advice … Her soon-to-be-ending match has been plagued with personality conflict. Now, she has a choice between two promising au pairs– but what criteria should she prioritize? On the one hand, she needs a good driver, and driving skills can be taught. […]

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